Crazy Parking Rules

During a visit to downtown Hartford, Connecticut, wife Lois and I parked by the large park near the State Capital building. We were confused on parking rules. On the west side of the street, there was a kiosk where a parking permit could be purchased to be placed on the car dashboard. On the east side of the street, where we were trying to park, there were parking meters spaced at every third parking space. The meters cost $4 of quarters for two hours. There were no meters for the second and third parking spaces. There was a sign which said there was a two hour maximum parking time along the entire east side of the street. 

 

Since we were short quarters and getting change required walking several blocks in the 95 degree humid heat, it would be easier and cheaper to park in a space with no meters. That didn't make any sense. Having earned an $80 parking ticket in Georgetown many years ago after missing a cryptic sign that said no parking between 4:00 and 5:00 PM, we were skeptical of such a deal. So, we started to ask all the locals walking by on lunch break.

 

Everyone offered different advice--all conflicting. After talking to a handful of passers-by, I saw a car with Colorado plates parking in one of the "free slots." As the driver got out of his car, I ran up to him and said that I was from Colorado Springs. He said that he was also from the Springs. I asked him if where he was parking was free, and he said that his uncle had told him that it was.

 

I walked back to Lois and we received more conflicting opinions. Then a meter maid walked by. Someone who would know. She said that she only ticketed meters, but thought that the un-metered spaces were free. Nobody had told her why there was such a parking arrangement.

 

We needed to make a decision. We planned to tour the Capital, and thought that we need two hours. We only had ten quarters which we had by now pumped into the meter. So, we took the risk, leaving the meter with one hour and ten minutes showing and driving forward one space to a free zone.

 

We toured the Capital and returned to a car that had not been ticketed.

 

 

 

TMI

As I walked into the liquor store to buy some beer, I saw a woman in her thirties with bleached platinum blonde pixie-cut hair fringed in red and green. Multiple piercings adorned her face and navel. The man accompanying her had a shaved head with multiple piercings adorning his face.

She walked up to the check-out counter carrying a bottle of booze. She said to the clerk, "I lost my virginity with this stuff."

That was more than I wanted to know.

Sarah and Zack

My granddaughter Sarah (3 1/2) plays with her neighbor friend Zack. Here are two incidents related by Sarah's mom.

1) Sarah and Zack were playing tea party. Sarah, dressed as a princess, told Zack that she would turn him from a frog into a prince. After the transformation, she said, "Now I will call you Zachariah!" .

2) Sarah and Zack were playing with a toy computer. Zack said, "Since I'm the husband, I get to use the computer. Sarah said, "Well, I'm the wife and need to send an email."

Success

A young NBA star related that his father used to tell him that when he was asleep, someone else would be practicing. I can relate to that.

When I was in college, I did well in engineering school--only because when my fellow students were asleep, I was studying. My mental short comings were strengthened with hard work and running scared.

During my career at Hewlett-Packard as a designer and manager of computer stuff, I at times awakened at night, realizing that others, much smarter than I, were hard at work. High anxiety. They soon became my boss's boss.

Looking back at my successes in life, they have occurred when I have gone the extra mile. Most of my failures have been aided by a lack of effort.

My most painful failures are of a different type, coming when I did not admit (or sometimes even realize) that I just couldn't do it. Even though I was putting in excessive hours (at least excessive worry), my energy was misdirected. Truth was too painful. The boat was sinking; I did not have the insight to bail out nor ask for help.

The maxim: "Follow your dreams," can lead one to spending $150,000 on NYC acting school to secure a career as a Hollywood restaurant host. Believing that I can do anything has been both my forte and foible.

Today my dream is to run half a marathon in a few months. After I complete this 13.1 mile race, I will be in super shape with beautiful 68-year-old runner's legs, weigh ten to fifteen pounds less, and have an overall better feeling about myself and the world. However, if I continue to sit in this chair watching NFL playoffs all day, I will not to have to endure the pain of running six miles in the cold..

I feel much better being a guilty couch potato rather than feeling better about myself.

Learning about Sarah

My granddaughter Sarah is two years old. You learn something about who a child is when they are one; but when they are two they begin to reveal more about themselves: they just tell you.

Sarah was having a difficult day as a two year old. At nap time, her mother askded her which book she wanted read, "'Let's be Kind', or 'Let's be Happy'?"

Sarah said, "How about 'Lets be Frustrated'?"